Average Fuel Economy for New Cars Sold In February 2012 Rises To 23.2 MPG According to TrueCar.com’s TrueMPG

TrueCar.com,the authority on new car pricing, trends and forecasting, today provided actual fuel economy numbers from February light vehicle auto sales that indicate TrueMPGTM increased to 23.2 mpg in February 2012 compared to 21.4 mpg in February 2011, and increased from January 2012 at 22.9 mpg.

“The American consumer shopping for a new car is seeing the most fuel-efficient lineup of vehicles ever while manufacturers are keeping the product just as exciting,” said Jesse Toprak, Vice President of Market Intelligence at TrueCar.com. “Ford’s average fuel economy increased by almost 5 MPG, which is quite staggering and much of the credit goes to the Fusion and Focus, along with its new lineup of six-cylinder large trucks.”

Below is how the top seven manufacturers fared comparing overall mpg, broken out by car and truck mpg:

Average MPG

Average Car MPG

Average Truck MPG

Manufacturer

Feb-12

Feb-11

YoY

Feb-12

Feb-11

YoY

Feb-12

Feb-11

YoY

Chrysler

19.6

19.0

0.6

22.6

20.7

2.0

18.1

18.0

0.1

Ford

22.2

17.3

4.9

27.0

24.2

2.8

19.6

16.2

3.4

GM

21.5

20.5

0.9

25.3

24.1

1.1

19.1

19.3

-0.2

Honda

25.4

24.0

1.5

28.7

27.1

1.7

22.6

21.0

1.6

Hyundai

28.0

26.0

2.0

29.6

27.2

2.5

23.7

23.8

-0.1

Nissan

23.7

22.5

1.2

26.2

25.0

1.2

20.2

19.4

0.8

Toyota

25.3

24.6

0.7

30.4

29.8

0.5

19.5

18.8

0.7

Industry

23.2

21.4

1.8

27.0

25.4

1.5

19.7

18.6

1.1

According to TrueCar.com, the TrueMPGTM for vehicles sold by U.S. manufacturers averaged 21.2 mpg inFebruary 2012, up from 19.0 mpg in February 2011. European manufacturers increased their average fuel economy for vehicles sold from 22.0 mpg to 23.0 mpg; Japanese manufacturers increased their average fuel economy from 23.8 mpg to 24.9 mpg; and South Korean manufacturers increased their average fuel economy for vehicles from 26.0 mpg to 28.0 mpg.

Below is a snapshot of a few vehicle segments and how they compare from February 2012 versus February 2011:

Average Small Car MPG

Average Midsize Car MPG

Average Large Truck MPG

Manufacturer

Feb-12

Feb-11

YoY

Feb-12

Feb-11

YoY

Feb-12

Feb-11

YoY

Chrysler

25.0

24.3

0.7

24.0

24.0

0.0

15.8

15.6

0.2

Ford

32.2

28.6

3.6

26.7

25.5

1.2

17.4

15.8

1.6

GM

30.3

28.2

2.0

25.8

25.4

0.4

17.0

17.1

0.0

Honda

32.3

29.9

2.4

26.1

25.7

0.5

17.2

16.9

0.3

Hyundai

31.3

28.7

2.6

27.8

26.7

1.1

N/A

N/A

N/A

Mazda

29.0

26.0

3.0

24.9

23.7

1.2

N/A

N/A

N/A

Mitsubishi

24.8

25.8

-1.0

24.3

24.3

0.0

N/A

N/A

N/A

Nissan

30.8

28.8

2.0

25.2

23.7

1.5

14.3

14.2

0.1

Subaru

28.2

22.2

5.9

24.2

24.0

0.2

N/A

N/A

N/A

Suzuki

N/A

N/A

N/A

25.0

25.0

0.1

N/A

N/A

N/A

Toyota

35.3

34.4

0.9

28.5

24.4

4.1

15.4

15.6

-0.2

Volkswagen

30.5

29.1

1.5

29.2

24.6

4.6

N/A

N/A

N/A

Industry

31.7

29.8

1.9

26.4

24.9

1.4

16.8

16.0

0.7

TrueCar also compared TrueMPG by Brand and Manufacturer:

TrueMPG by Brand

Brand

Feb-12

Jan-12

Feb-11

YoY

MoM

smart

36.2

35.8

36.2

0.0

0.4

Fiat

31.9

32.2

N/A

N/A

-0.4

MINI

30.3

29.9

30.0

0.1

0.2

Hyundai

27.8

27.7

26.1

2.3

0.7

Volkswagen

27.4

26.9

25.5

2.7

1.3

Kia

26.1

27.1

25.8

1.7

0.4

Scion

26.0

26.8

25.6

1.7

0.5

Honda

24.7

25.8

24.6

1.4

0.1

Mazda

24.6

25.8

24.3

1.7

0.2

Toyota

24.5

24.8

25.0

0.6

0.8

Mitsubishi

24.5

25.0

25.1

-0.2

0.0

Subaru

23.5

24.3

23.2

1.7

0.6

Nissan

23.4

24.0

22.8

1.3

0.1

Suzuki

23.4

23.5

23.2

0.8

0.5

Buick

22.4

22.6

20.3

2.6

0.3

Audi

22.2

22.0

22.0

0.5

0.5

Lexus

21.2

21.9

21.2

1.3

0.5

Ford

21.3

21.9

17.3

5.0

0.4

Chevrolet

21.7

21.8

21.3

0.8

0.3

Saab

20.9

21.5

22.4

-0.8

0.1

Chrysler

20.9

21.6

19.5

2.1

0.0

Acura

21.1

21.1

19.9

1.3

0.2

BMW

20.5

20.9

20.2

1.0

0.4

Volvo

20.9

21.2

21.2

0.0

0.0

Dodge

20.3

20.4

19.8

0.6

0.0

Mercedes-Benz

20.5

20.5

19.1

1.3

0.0

Lincoln

19.7

20.2

18.8

1.5

0.1

Infiniti

19.6

19.8

19.7

0.4

0.3

Porsche

19.4

19.8

21.0

-1.2

0.0

GMC

18.9

19.0

18.9

0.3

0.2

Jeep

18.6

18.9

17.6

1.4

0.1

Cadillac

18.4

18.8

18.8

0.1

0.1

Jaguar

18.0

17.9

18.0

0.0

0.0

Ram

15.6

15.8

15.6

0.2

0.0

Land Rover

15.0

15.3

14.0

1.3

0.0

Industry

22.3

22.9

21.4

1.8

0.3

TrueMPG by Manufacturer

Manufacturer

Large Car

Large SUV

Large Truck

Luxury Car

Luxury Sport Car

Luxury SUV

Midsize Car

BMW

N/A

N/A

N/A

22.7

18.0

19.6

N/A

Chrysler

20.7

18.1

15.8

N/A

N/A

N/A

24.0

Daimler

N/A

N/A

N/A

22.4

19.9

18.0

N/A

Ford

20.4

15.5

17.4

22.1

N/A

18.7

26.7

GM

22.6

18.0

17.0

20.5

19.3

18.1

25.8

Honda

N/A

N/A

17.2

23.9

N/A

18.4

26.1

Hyundai/Kia

N/A

N/A

N/A

21.3

N/A

N/A

27.8

Land Rover/Jaguar

N/A

N/A

N/A

17.9

18.4

15.3

N/A

Mazda

N/A

18.7

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

24.9

Mitsubishi

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

24.3

Nissan

N/A

14.8

14.3

21.8

21.2

17.4

25.2

Porsche

N/A

N/A

N/A

20.0

20.5

18.8

N/A

Saab

N/A

N/A

N/A

21.7

N/A

20.6

N/A

Subaru

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

24.2

Suzuki

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

25.0

Toyota

23.0

15.2

15.4

24.2

21.7

20.3

28.5

Volkswagen

N/A

N/A

N/A

24.0

21.5

20.9

29.2

Volvo

N/A

N/A

N/A

21.9

23.5

19.2

N/A

Industry

21.6

17.5

16.8

22.7

20.8

18.5

26.4

TrueMPG by Manufacturer

Manufacturer

Midsize SUV

Minivan

Small Car

Small SUV

Small Truck

Sport Car

Subcompact Car

BMW

N/A

N/A

N/A

28.3

N/A

30.8

N/A

Chrysler

18.5

19.9

25.0

20.3

N/A

19.3

31.8

Daimler

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

36.2

Ford

22.1

N/A

32.2

23.5

18.8

21.7

33.1

GM

23.9

N/A

30.3

N/A

19.4

20.7

29.3

Honda

23.6

21.4

32.3

N/A

N/A

N/A

30.5

Hyundai/Kia

22.8

20.6

31.3

25.3

N/A

29.1

32.1

Land Rover/Jaguar

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Mazda

22.6

23.7

29.0

23.3

N/A

23.5

30.2

Mitsubishi

17.1

N/A

24.8

25.6

N/A

22.9

N/A

Nissan

21.6

20.5

30.8

28.2

16.9

21.3

N/A

Porsche

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Saab

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Subaru

17.9

N/A

28.2

23.3

N/A

N/A

N/A

Suzuki

N/A

N/A

N/A

20.8

17.4

N/A

26.1

Toyota

21.4

20.0

35.3

N/A

18.5

N/A

30.0

Volkswagen

21.2

19.9

30.5

23.7

N/A

24.0

24.9

Volvo

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Industry

21.8

20.4

31.7

23.1

18.4

23.0

30.9

TrueMPGTM is an easy-to-understand and objective way to comprehend monthly fuel economy averages by brand, manufacturer, origin and vehicle segments using Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ratings based on estimated and/or actual monthly automotive sales-weighted data. TrueCar.com is seeking to provide transparency and truth in average fuel economy, providing an alternative view to Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) ratings that can be confusing and misleading. TrueMPGTM helps keep in perspective what each manufacturer’s average miles per gallon per car sold using EPA’s window sticker.

TrueMPGTM computes monthly average fuel economy by brand, manufacturer, origin and vehicle segments by using actual sales data or forecasted sales data for the current month. Calculations start at the trim level, taking into account EPA fuel economy data including engine size and drivetrain that affect a vehicle’s MPG ratings; the sales share from each trim level is then calculated to create an average for each model. Brand level data is calculated by the sales share of each model and the manufacturer data is then based on the share of each brand, providing an accurate and completely data driven picture of actual measured MPGs in the market place. TrueCar utilizes EPA’s average fuel economy rating using 45 percent highway and 55 percent city driving behavior.